


the doppelgänger effect

by shieldmyheart



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Twins, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Food Trucks, Kylo Ren & Ben Solo are Twins, Mistaken Identity, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22730500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shieldmyheart/pseuds/shieldmyheart
Summary: you have a crush on your favorite customer, ben, but after one particular encounter, you're not sure the feeling is mutual...
Relationships: Ben Solo/Original Female Character(s), Ben Solo/Reader, Ben Solo/You
Kudos: 35





	the doppelgänger effect

“There’s my favorite customer!”

“Hey Y/N!” Ben exclaims, arms outstretched. He bounds up to the truck’s window, a handsome smile plastered on his face. “What’s on the menu today?”

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” You say through a chuckle, pointing to the chalkboard adhered to the outside of the truck.

“You know I like it when you surprise me,” he says leaning his shoulder against the truck, his honey-colored eyes looking up at you.

“You _have_ become my unofficial taste tester.” You fold your arms over the counter in front of you and bend forward so that you’re more level with him.

“And what an honor it has been.” He bows dramatically, his dark curls cascading across his face.

“Don’t quit your day job,” you tease behind a smile.

Ben pops back up, bottom lip pushed out into a pout. You roll your eyes at his theatrics.

“So, you ready to try my newest masterpiece?” You’ve been working on a new recipe that you thought Ben might enjoy. You thought yourself lucky to have such a loyal customer in Ben, who enjoyed trying new things.

“Is the sky blue? Yes! Bring it on!”

You laugh out loud at his enthusiasm and turn to the workspace behind you to prepare his special dish. He continues to talk to you and your co-worker, Rose, through the window even as other customers begin to show up. He was known to blow his entire lunch break hanging out at your food truck – not that you minded. Ben was funny and charming; his presence always meant you were going to have a good day.

“What do you think?” you ask once you’ve finished constructing your latest creation and hand it over to Ben.

He chews thoughtfully, a speck of sauce on his cheek. You hand him a napkin. He takes it and wipes the incriminating spot away.

“Amazing, absolutely perfect!”

A jolt of pride shoots through you at his words, even though you know they’re most likely exaggerated. “You should like it. I was thinking of naming it after you…”

“What? Really?”

His amber eyes widen and a grin spreads across his face. You feel yourself start to smile, too. You had the idea for the sandwich for a while now and certain aspects of it were inspired by the man before you. Maybe it was too bold, but it felt right.

“Uh, yeah, I mean you are my most loyal customer—”

“—guilty.”

“So, it seemed only right to immortalize you in this way.”

“That settles it, then. We’re getting married!”

He grabs your hand and plants a gentle kiss to the back of it. A wave of warmth washes over you at the simple touch and grows stronger when he looks up at you with bright eyes.

“You’re crazy,” you say through a laugh, the feeling of his lips still lingering on your skin.

“Crazy for you and your awesome sandwiches, seriously, this is the best!”

After a few more minutes of conversation, Ben finishes his lunch and heads back towards the office building he worked at further down the block. Your other lunch patrons have also begun to dissipate, leaving you and Rose to finish tidying the truck before heading to your next destination.

“So, are you really going to call the new sub ‘The Ben’?”

Rose’s question catches your attention as you’re putting away unused ingredients. She has her back to you while she’s wiping down the opposite counter, but you have a suspicious feeling that she’s smirking.

“I mean, I was thinking about it…only because he’s here so much, you know? Like, I’m sure most of our business comes from him, anyway, so why not show a little appreciation?”

Rose turns, and sure enough she’s grinning like she knows something you don’t and is bursting to spill the secret. “Normal customer appreciation is giving him ten percent off his meal; this—” She gestures towards you, “—is something else.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

You duck your head to hide the blush that’s crept into your cheeks. You know precisely what she means but hearing it from someone else just makes it all too real for you. The friendly relationship you had with Ben was great and over the past couple of months you began to see him in a different light. A dirty rag hits your face, promptly bringing you out of your head.

“Ugh, really?!”

Rose waves away your annoyance. “You know exactly what I mean: you _like_ him.”

“I—” You scramble for something else to say, something to deflect your true feelings but realize there’s no point in hiding it from your friend. “You’re right, I do.”

Her face lights up even more. “Oh my god, I knew it!” Rose laughs cheerily as she pokes you in the arm. You roll your eyes even as a smile blooms across your face.

“You have to ask him out,” Rose says suddenly, hands now grasping your upper arms.

“What? No!” You wriggle out of her grip, turning back to your unfinished task.

“Why not? It’s obvious he’s into you, too.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Ben has been flirting with you for _weeks,_ but you don’t seem to notice.”

“He’s a friendly guy…”

“With me, sure. But with you he’s _extra_ friendly. Case in point, the kiss today.”

Did that random act of intimacy cause butterflies to erupt in your stomach? Yes, it did. Did it mean Ben liked you in the same way you liked him? Thinking back on your interactions with the dark-haired man, you notice slight differences in how he behaves with you and others.

“That _was_ unexpected.”

“But was it unwanted?”

You feel your body warm at the thought of Ben’s lips on your hand early. Instinctively, you touch the spot where his mouth had met your skin. “No.”

“Then you know what you need to do,” Rose says as she turns back to her task.

You do know, and it makes you nervous. You spend the next few days working up the courage to ask Ben out for coffee – a simple request that wouldn’t put too much pressure on him if it turns out he doesn’t feel the same. If he notices any strangeness in your behavior, he doesn’t let on because he’s still as magnetic and personable as ever. By the end of the week, when you have yet to make your move, Rose threatens to do it for you. A part of you knows she probably would if given the chance, so it’s with that conclusion that you swallow your fears of rejection and decide to ask Ben out. He just has to arrive at the truck first.

It’s Friday and the line for your artisan sandwiches is several people deep already and it’s only a little after noon. With the sun high and bright, warming the air below, it means more people have ventured outside for their lunch breaks. It’s going to be a busy day; you hope you’ll have time to speak with Ben once he gets here.

You and Rose continue to serve your patrons while the line steadily grows. Good weather always brings with it new customers, and you can’t complain about that. A few minutes later as you’re finishing up with a handsome couple and their feisty little corgi – who you heard them affectionately call ‘BeeBee’ – Rose nudges you. You turn to her as your handing change back to the dark-haired man and his partner. She tilts her head outside towards the back of the line and you follow with your eyes.

There, in a neatly pressed and fitted black suit, is Ben. Your stomach swirls at the sight of him dressed so smartly. Not that he doesn’t dress nicely regularly, but the outfit he’s wearing today is a step above his normal. You wonder what the reason behind it might be – maybe a promotion at work?

“Uh, miss?”

“Our food?”

The voices of the men in front of you pull your thoughts and eyes away from Ben. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Here you are, thanks again!”

You hand them their bag and start taking the order of the next guest as they walk off. Soon Ben is nearing the truck window, his focus on the cell phone in his hand. You fuss with your hair for a moment before he gets to the window earning a teasing giggle from Rose.

“There you are, I was starting to get worried!”

He looks up from his phone, eyebrows knitted together. “Uh, okay. Can I order now?”

He places his order and moves to the side so that the next customer can be helped. His attention is back on his phone while he waits. Something is _off_ about his demeanor today. He’s been upset when visiting your food truck on other occasions, but even then, he managed to hold a lively conversation with you. You wonder what is causing him to be so aloof today.

You busy yourself with taking more orders and helping Rose prepare each meal. You want to ask Ben if he’s alright and try to once his order is complete. However, when you give him his bag, he just hands you a large bill and says “Keep the change” before stalking off. Rose notices this and looks to you with her eyebrows raised in question. You just shrug while finishing up with other customers.

The rest of the afternoon goes by without incident and once the last person leaves, Rose shuts the glass window and turns to you, arms crossed.

“Okay, what was with Ben today?”

You sigh. “I don’t know.”

“Did he say anything to you?” She starts gathering ingredients to place in the fridge.

“Nothing. He was like a whole different person.”

“Maybe he’s having a rough time at work,” Rose offers.

You nod in agreement. It’s very plausible that whatever might be bothering him is work related or even something in his personal life. Is it selfish of you to want to be the person he comes to when he’s troubled? You may just be the person who fixes his favorite sandwiches, but the connection the two of you have started to build feels meaningful to you. And you hope to build on it.

You try to put the incident behind you over the next couple of days, but it’s hard not to think about it. With no service on the weekend, you have free time to do whatever you please and your brain decides to concentrate solely on Ben. You cycle through several different reasons on why he was upset including any actions of yours that may have been the cause. You know obsessing over it – and him – is not ideal, so on Monday you resolve to just talk to him.

Once Ben arrives at half-past twelve, his usual grin on his handsome face, you say, “I see you’re in a better mood today.”

He stops short of the window, smile faltering a bit at your tone. “What?”

You lean across the counter, arms folded. “You were kinda standoffish the other day, Ben. What happened? Did…did I do something?”

He takes a step closer, eyebrows knitted together. “No, of course not! But I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“On Friday you seemed…distant.”

“I didn’t have lunch here Friday.”

“And I suppose it was your ‘evil twin’ instead?” You tease, using air quotes to emphasize your words.

Ben seems to mull over your words for a moment before cursing under his breath. He reaches through the small window and grabs your hands. “Listen, Y/N, my brother –”

“Wait – you really have a twin?” You don’t mean to sound so surprised by this newfound information.

“Yeah. He’s…rough around the edges, but once you get to know him, he’s pretty cool.”

You pull back a little, letting your hands drop from Ben’s embrace. If it’s true that his brother was the one who you spoke with on Friday, then you had no reason to be upset with Ben. It was all an honest mistake.

“Look, I really am sorry about the misunderstanding.” Ben says to break the silence that’s fallen between you. “How about I bring him with me tomorrow? Have you two properly meet?”

“Sure,” you reply. “We can do that.”

The next day, while Rose is training a new employee, you keep glancing at your watch willing twelve o’clock to hurry along. Time appears to move more quickly once people start to arrive and you can busy yourself with taking their orders. Once the initial wave of customers disperses, you glance at your watch again. And right on schedule you hear Ben’s boisterous voice calling your name. You, Rose, and your recent hire Rey peer out the window to see Ben walking towards the truck.

“Who’s that?” Rey asks, nose scrunched up in confusion.

“Y/N’s future boyfriend,” Rose answers with a teasing smirk.

You swat at her arm as she and Rey giggle before turning back to their stations. You wave to Ben, signaling to him to give you a minute. You take off your apron and exit the truck. Ben’s waiting a small distance away from the vehicle, out of earshot of your friends, who you sense will probably be watching from the window.

After exchanging hellos, Ben leads you up the street to a park bench. Sitting there is the identical match to the man beside you. Same brown eyes, prominent nose, pouty lips. Even their hairstyles are similar. The only thing marking a difference between them is the all-black outfit Kylo is wearing.

“Y/N, this is my idiot brother Kylo.”

Kylo scowls at Ben’s choice of words as he stands and extends a hand towards you. “Sorry about the other day,” he says when you shake his hand.

“Well, now that I know there are two of you, you’ll just have to wear nametags, so I can tell you apart.”

That gets a laugh from Ben and the sound makes your heart skip a beat. Even Kylo spares you a small smile. Any tension that may have lingered between you dissipates. You’re glad to know your Ben is still the same man you’ve grown to admire.

“I’ll leave you two alone now,” Kylo states a moment later. “I guess I’ll be seeing more of you if my brother doesn’t fuck up this next part.”

Kylo claps a hand on his brother’s shoulder, a smirk pulling up the corners of his mouth. Ben pushes his other-half’s hand aside earning a chuckle from Kylo as he walks away.

“I was doing fine until you came along!” Ben yells at his brother’s back. “Ass,” he mutters more to himself as he brings his focus back to you.

You gesture towards Kylo’s retreating figure. “What was that about?”

Ben’s cheeks flush a rosy shade of pink at your question. “Uhhh…” His hand goes to the back of his neck, where he rubs it a few times. Is he nervous? Cheerful, confident Ben? What could he be nervous about?

“Before the whole mix up with my brother, I had wanted to tell you something,” he begins, hands now in his pockets.

“Oh?” A rapid fluttering erupts in your chest.

“I like you…a lot, and I’d like to take you out sometime. If you want.”

Rose was right: Ben likes you. A weightless feeling takes over and a sunny smile blossoms across your cheeks. “I like you, too, and I’d love that.”

“Really?” Ben asks, his face lighting up.

You laugh softly. “Really.”

Suddenly, your feet are off the ground and the world is spinning around you. You’re still laughing when Ben puts you down a moment later, his strong arms keeping you close.

“Too much?” he asks, a slight crease to his brow.

“With you, never.”


End file.
